Life in the Trenches, on the Mountains and to the Extreme

Leo N. Egashira ’76 defines life as a constant struggle between “time and money”—and he’s decided to let time win.

With a B.A. from Harvard and an MBA from The University of Southern California at Berkeley’s School of Business he could have easily found a comfy corner office and settled into a regular routine. But that was never what he was looking for.

When he isn’t accompanying Japanese businessmen on jaunts through Northeastern lumberyards, acting as their American liaison and interpreter, Egashira takes what money he has made and heads off to the seldom traveled sectors of the globe. He has successfully completed a 100-mile solo hike in the Rocky Mountains, a trip to the Arctic and one to Greenland.

“Leo is into hardcore backpacking” says Mikiko Huang ’77, a long-time friend of Egashira, “he plans these inexpensive trips and comes back with incredible panoramic pictures that give you a real sense of the expanse.”

Having lived with the HIV virus for almost 10 years and watched his lover Craig Davidson ’77 die from AIDS related complications, Egashira is a man fascinated with ‘the expanse.’

“I really didn’t expect to see the year 2000. In 1992, HIV was a death sentence,” he says. “And it was all kind of a surprise because I was asymptomatic.”

In 1992, Egashira’s life psychology changed. Faced with a shortened life span, he decided to spend more time savoring his life-long relationship with the outdoors. “I had done some hiking before college, but after being diagnosed I figured if things started going bad I’d better do a bunch of things before my time came.”

His friends are amazed at what he has done in the past decade.

“I never know from where Leo’s next e-mail will come,” explains Marvin N. Bagwell ’76, one of Egashira’s best friends in college. “Leo now treats all of his life as if it were a vacation. He schedules his life as one would a vacation, but he seems always to be doing something that he would like to do. He is a person who obviously knows the value of our time here on this earth and he does not want to waste any of it on those things that are ultimately superficial.”

Egashira is also an avid writer, contributing pieces to various conservation and gay rights publications, most notably Dignity, a national organization for gay and lesbian Catholics.

“Leo’s Catholicism is still very important to him,’” Huang says. “And he’s found a way to make that a positive thing.” Though Catholicism is not known for being accepting of homosexuality, Egashira believes that the best way to change an organization that he strongly believes in is from the inside.

“The only way I can be in the Catholic church is to be fighting against it,” Egashira says. “I believe faith is a gift and I have every right to call myself a Catholic and be one, but also a responsibility to fight against it.”

Egashira believes that organizations like Dignity, along with small local parishes which are much more progressive will help lead the way.

He also believes that campus groups like BGLSTA and Girlspot, groups that during Egashira’s college days had no equivalent, make “being out” a lot easier. Neither Egahsira nor his two closest friends in college —Davidson and Bagwell—were out while at Harvard.

“I think our lives would have been a little different, our friendships a little deeper, if we had had the opportunity to be out in college. In my four [reunion] visits there has been a wholesale change for students…not to deny the wonderful time I had but there is no question I was closeted and if there were groups to join I wasn’t aware of them.”

Friends who have known Egashira since his days at Harvard find his commitment to the outdoors and to various activist groups inspiring, but are not surprised by the path he has chosen.

“Leo could have gotten a more traditional job and he did pursue one in Iowa for a while, but he was never that concerned with status or money, so his decision would not have been that surprising even if he had not suffered personal tragedies and even if he were not HIV-positive,” former roommate Andrew R. Kislik ’76 recalls.

Thinking back to their dorm room days, Kislik remembers the playful Egashira’s rendition of a character fondly called “Pajama Man” and his friend’s intense love for gymnastics and geography.

“Of course, all of us have become more serious since we were 22, but Leo is still very funny and personable,” he adds.

Bagwell agrees, noting, “Aside from having a little more hair and perhaps being a bit thinner, Leo hasn’t changed a bit. He still takes off his clothes at the drop of a hat.”

When Bagwell gets his Christmas card from Egashira every year, he knows to expect a photo of Egashira in some exotic place that tooks weeks of hiking to reach. “I have yet to receive one in which he has kept his shirt on,” Bagwell adds.

Kislik observes that the somber side, the part of Egashira that has dealt with HIV and the loss of his lover, has made him more serious at times, but it has also motivated him to take more risks in life—risks that have ultimately proved life affirming.

With the help of some drugs and a miraculously resilient faith, Egashira is living for today and planning for tomorrow. He is currently working on a photo montage and travel article on Greenland.

“Leo is such an example to his friends,” says Huang. “People that go to Harvard are achievement oriented, but he makes sure that day-to-day relationships with people are more important. High profile people obviously have an important place in our society, but there are a lot of people like Leo who are down in the trenches of real life just living day to day.”

—Staff writer Antoinette C. Nwandu can be reached at nwandu@fas.harvard.edu.